Kacey Musgraves Almost Didn’t Record ‘Follow Your Arrow’

Kacey Musgraves' 'Same Trailer, Different Park' was almost released without its cornerstone song, 'Follow Your Arrow.' But the track made it onto the album just in time, after a last-minute January writing session.

"The record was basically done, and I was getting a lot of pressure because there were already a lot of great songs in the batch," Musgraves says in an interview with Billboard. "But [co-writers] Brandy [Clark], Shane [McAnally] and I had these ideas, and they just really encapsulated where my head was at. I knew exactly what I wanted to do sonically, and I said, 'This isn't a complete record without them.'"

Luckily, the song was finished in time and a complete record was released. 'Follow Your Arrow' has been a groundbreaking country song -- introducing the industry to some new ideas and helping make country more mainstream.

"It's been much more embraced by the media and radio than even we were expecting," Musgraves' manager, Jason Owen, tells Billboard. "It's just the first time in a long time that someone's lyrically said the things Kacey says."

"It's not a gay song. We were just trying to list people that might have felt like underdogs at some point in their lives," McAnally adds. "Sure, gay people have felt that way, but also fat people, or people who get outcasted at their churches for teenage pregnancy, or people who might smoke weed. Also, Brandy and I quickly realized the only word we could rhyme with 'point' was 'joint.'"

'Follow Your Arrow' is already in the Top 40, and Musgraves has acquired some big name fans in mainstream music. Katy Perry invited her to perform at her We Can Survive benefit in October, and the duo held a songwriting session recently, which Musgraves calls "an awesome experience."

Musgraves is embarking on Lady Antebellum's tour in 2014 before hopping through shows in Europe and Asia.